Covered in Red
by VaticanCameos
Summary: William has long since gotten used to Grell's strange, reclusive attitude on the anniversary of her death, but when she starts acting even stranger than usual, William decides he must try to discover what made her into a reaper. *In case you can't tell, I use feminine pronouns for Grell in this story because that is how she refers to herself in Japanese
1. Chapter 1

**Hi guys! I had this idea, and I decided to share it with you! :) I hope you enjoy! Please review! I really enjoy seeing your opinions and knowing whether or not I am doing something right.  
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Most reapers are very open- some even excited- to talk about their deaths. Reapers normally end their human lives in a tragic or heroic event that proves they can handle the job. There are a few, however, who have difficulty accepting their deaths. They become reclusive on the anniversaries of their deaths, which some celebrate as a sort of second birthday into their reaper lives.

William does neither. He has accepted his death, but he does not celebrate it like Ronald Knox celebrates how he passed on. William T. Spears was a high-ranking officer in the British Navy when he died while saving two children whose villiage was under attack. He was escorting them out of their burning house when another soldier, one of his subordinates, decided to use the chaos to shoot his higher-up in the head. The reaper who was to reap his soul had decided, after viewing his record, that William would be a dutiful worker and possibly rank very high in the Division one day.

It was one his current subordinates, however, who liked to give him so much trouble, that William wished that all he did was put a bullet through his skull. Grell Sutcliff did not like to complete paperwork on time, but she rarely left in the middle of a case to go do who knows what. _Today will be one of those days_, William thought to himself.

He knew what would be coming up soon, but that did not give Sutcliff leave and let the soul to stay there until William realized what happened and sent someone to retrieve it. In one week, it would be Sutcliff's death anniversary, and the redhead became completely incompetent in the week leading up to it; it was almost a tradition. The normally loud reaper would become subdued, and she would manage to wear the actual required uniform, which did not include a red coat from the deceased body of half of Jack the Ripper.

These changes often concerned William because the change was so dramatic. There was only one thing that kept him from asking Grell if she needed to talk about it, and that is keeping his role as a supervisor. It only happens once a year, and with time, Grell can eventually accept it. She has never done anything so drastic, though. Skipping assignments was not something that the redheaded reaper would ever do; she loves her job and everything that came with it.

Suddenly, his phone rang, jerking William from his thoughts. "Spears," he said into the line.

"Mr. Spears, there have been complaints about Sutcliff in the housing units," said his secretary, Mary Johnson.

"Oh? She's in her room?" William asked.

"Yes, sir. The complaints say that they can hear smashing and her Death Scythe."

"Okay, I will go take care of it, thank you for letting me know."

After hanging up, William left his office, heading towards Sutcliff's rooms in the housing units for reapers. He found her room with unsurprising ease, for the door was painted a deep, blood red. He knocked on the door, and after he listened to the roaring of her chainsaw and several loud crashes, William just opened the door. He paid little attention to the kitchen and living room, instead running directly towards where the noises were, in the bedroom. At first, he was slightly nervous. What if she was doing unsavory things with that demon? At that thought, William's resolve hardened and he kicked open the locked door.

She was standing there in only an over-sized work shirt that hung nearly to her knees. Her hair was knotted at the back of her neck, and strands of it were stuck to her forehead with sweat. In her hands was her Death Scythe, and her room was torn to shreds. Her mirrors were shattered and her clothes were out of her wardrobe and on the floor. Wardrobe itself was on its way to becoming little more than kindling, along with what appeared to be a bedside table and a desk. Her face, though, was what frightened him, and he was rarely frightened. Her eyes were glassy with tears, eyeliner and mascara running down her cheeks in thick black lines. There were small spots of blood around her mouth, implying that she had bitten her lips with her shark-like teeth.

Grell paid little mind to her superior and lifted her scythe to attack her wardrobe again. Running forward, William grabbed her shoulder with one hand and the handle to her scythe with the other. He pulled the chainsaw out of her grasp and pushed her onto her bed. It was only until after he tossed the now-silent scythe onto the floor that he realized that pushing her made her shirt slide up her thighs and show a fair more amount of pale skin than what William was used to seeing from the other reaper.

"Wi- Will?" Grell stuttered, her voice thick with tears. "Give me back my scythe! And get out! What are you doing in a lady's room?"

William wanted to ask her if she was okay, to find out what had upset her so much, but instead he straightened his back and said quietly "There have been some complaints about noise from other reapers. And that is no way to use a Death Scythe, Sutcliff."

Her expression darkened, and William saw something strange in her eyes, almost like the madness that occurred during the Jack the Ripper case.

"Fine, I'll stay quiet. I'll be more subtle next time I decide to destroy my room." She laughed and then laid down on her bed, tugging the hem of her shirt down so it covered more of her legs.

William took a hesitant step forward and cleared his throat. Grell lifted her head to look at him again and raised an eyebrow. "I want you to know, Sutcliff, that if what upset you was the case you were given, you should let me know so I do not assign you a similar one in the future," Grell smiled faintly. "So that we won't have to send people to clean up and make sure a demon doesn't get the soul next time," William added quickly, suddenly embarrassed by what he said.

"Of course. All you care about is work," She sneered. "Don't worry about your employees. You don't even care enough to know why I'm upset, you only ask because it's your job."

"I should not become personal with any of my employees," he said slowly. "I apologize if I offended you in any way."

"I think I should just summon my scythe and kill you right now. What reason do I have to let you stay? I am a 'Death God' and I should celebrate that someone decided I deserved this second shot at life. What better way to celebrate that than kill people?"

William was confused. She should be showering him with affection and proclaiming her love, not threatening him halfheartedly. "Grell, are you... will you tell me what is wrong? I do not... like when you act like this. Not because it hinders work, but because you are upset. Crying does not suit you, Sutcliff."

He had tried to hide the use of her first name by ending it with her surname, but Grell noticed, and she smiled slightly. "Do you really want to know?"

He nodded slightly, sitting down on the edge of her bed. She squirmed farther away from him and stared at the ceiling. Her face was devoid of emotion and her voice was completely monotonous when she began to speak.

"When I died, I should not have become a reaper. Your lot does not hire murderers."


	2. Chapter 2

"Grell, I-" William began before being cut off.

"No!" Grell said, sitting up and looking at him. "If you really want me to tell you, then just be quiet."  
After a moment of silence, she brushed a few stray strands of hair from of her forehead and then ran her hands under her eyes, wiping off some of the smudged make up.

"Actually, I don't want to talk about this," she sighed. "It's just too..."

William nodded and frowned slightly. Of course she would stop talking as soon as she finally said something he wanted to know. "If you do need to talk, you could always talk to.. me?" He said uncertainly.

Grell's eyes widened and she looked down as her cheeks turned pink. She got onto her hands and knees and crawled towards him, attempting to climb into his lap, showing some of her normal, attention-loving self. William had to nearly force himself to push her away. It was something about this quiet, sad Grell that made his head feel dizzy and made him want to be kind towards her.

"Do you want to leave?" Grell asked. "I promise to stop annoying everyone else with the noise."

"Just because you are quiet, does not mean you are okay. You should come with me," William replied. "I can keep an eye on you at my house and there is a guest room you can use."

Grell stared at him in amazement, something that William was feeling himself. What just made him say that?  
"Are.. Are you sure?" She sounded confused and hesitant, not understanding why the man she loved was actually being nice.

William cleared his throat and nodded slightly, standing up. "Gather some things, I'll wait in your living room."  
She nodded and smiled at him, and William left, closing the door behind him.

After the door was shut, Grell laid down on her bed again, wondering what was wrong with William today. She knew that she was acting a little more angry than she normally did around this time of year, but that was because of the stupid case he gave her. It reminded her too much of her own human life and death. That was one thing she did not need reminding about.

With a sigh, knowing that he would yell at her if she took too long, Grell went over to one of the larger shards of her mirror and used it to try and fix her make up and hair. She finished removing the black smudges on her cheeks and placed a small amount of eyeliner on, much less than normal. With a shake of her head, Grell let her red hair fall down her back. Running a brush through it quickly, she then twisted it back up into a knot at the back of her neck so it would stay out of her way. Grell then ran around her room, grabbing clothes and things, before realizing that she was wearing nothing but a button-up shirt. She blushed when she thought of just how much of a mess she must have looked to William. She slipped into a pair of pants and her favorite red heels, grabbed her bag of clothes and necessities, then opened the door to her room, picking up her scythe on her way out into the living room.

"You can leave that here," Was the first thing William said from his spot at her kitchen table.

"It's my scythe, how can I work if I don't have it?" She demanded.

"You are not working for the rest of the week," he said simply.

Grell stared at him, dumbfounded. He never gave multiple days in a row off. "Why not?"

William stood up and motioned for her to follow him. She dropped her scythe onto the table as she walked past it on her way out the door, surprising William once again with her silent compliance. "You are not competent enough to work until this week is over. You would just leave me with more work to do if you did show up."

She sighed and let her superior lead her to his house in a different section of the housing units. He unlocked his door and opened it for her, waving her in while looking around to make sure no one was watching. William brought her to the guest room and let her put her things down on a small bed. "Now, I do not expect you to be willing to tell me about what you are upset about, and to keep professionalism, I will not ask any more. But, as one reaper to another, you may tell me what you want to. I do not like to see you so willing to listen to my orders. It is too different from the usual," William said quietly to her. "I am going to go work in my room, so if you need anything, ask."

After he left her to her thoughts, Grell began to wonder why she couldn't tell him. She loved William, more than Sebastian. Sebastian was just a passing fancy that caught her eye, but William was the one who truly caught her heart. People are meant to trust the ones they love, so why couldn't she?

In his own room, sitting at a small desk, William was wondering the same thing. Were all of her proclamations of love just her trying to have a little fun for the night? Or did she actually mean it when she told him she loved him? _Stop this,_ he told himself. _You need to work, so focus. It's just Sutcliff trying to get attention, as per usual._

William was digging through some of his files to try to find his own, because for the life of him he could not recall when he last did field work, when his fingers brushed the file marked "Sutcliff, Grell." He has never looked in this file, or any of the others of his subordinates. Many superiors liked to so they could get to know their employees and ensure that they were not given any cases that were similar to their deaths, but William never saw a real reason to. He thought that it was an invasion of privacy and that as reapers, his employees should get over it and just reap the souls. Now, though, he could see that the other supervisors might know what they were doing when they read the files.

Slowly, he pulled the file out and opened it to see a picture of bright red hair, blood, and torn clothes. Furrowing his eyebrows, William read the caption under the photograph "Grell Sutcliff at time of death." There were several sheathes of paper underneath the photo, the first one being the one that described the Jack the Ripper case, Grell's involvement in it, and her punishment. The next paper was titled "Permission Requested to Turn Human to a Reaper." He skimmed the first paragraph and saw that it was Grell's reaper's report on her life that told why she should become a reaper. These reports were rare, and when they were made, they were given a top priority so the Reaper Dispatch can start training them if they are approved. William was just beginning to read about her life when there was a hesitant knock at the door. He shoved the papers back into the file and tucked it under several forms that were on his desk William cleared his throat and then said "Come in."

Grell opened the door and immediately draped herself over his desk, resting her elbows on William's paperwork and holding her head in her hands, grinning wickedly at him. William noticed that she was only wearing a thin, red, lacy nightdress and he immediately blushed before placing one hand on her forehead and pushing her off.

"Oh Will, one day, you will not be so cold towards me!" She giggled.

"You seem to be back to your old self," he said, staring at his desk and the wall and the door and anything that was not currently red.

He heard her sigh dramatically and glanced at her in spite of himself. Grell's excitement from just a moment ago seemed to have disappeared completely. She was staring at several forms on his desk, frowning slightly. "Will, dear, what is that?" She asked, pointing to her own file.

William jumped and grabbed it, hiding the name on it from her and stuffing it into a desk drawer. "Nothing that concerns you. Now what do you want?"

She pouted and then crossed her arms over her chest. "I was just wondering if it would be alright if I made us something to eat."

Blinking in surprise, William nodded. "If you want to. Just do not burn down my kitchen. I need to work, so please be quiet."

Grell giggled again and then twirled, making her skirt flare and show even more of her legs. William was seeing a lot of them today, and he was not very comfortable with that.

"Alright, my love! It shall be delicious! I will call you when it's done, okay? Ta ta!" She waved goodbye to him and then left with much twirling and laughter.


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you all very much for the follows and favorites and reviews :) It just makes my day to see them! I hope you guys enjoy!**

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After Grell left, William took out her file again. He flipped to the page about her human life. There were several drawings of a child with red hair and blue eyes, the youngest one of Grell from when she was a baby, wrapped in a white blanket.

The report discussed how Grell was born male, but having a writer and artist as a mother who cared little for gender roles, she was allowed to dress as feminine as she wanted as long as her father was away. Her mother was not angry when Grell told her that she was a woman. It was rare for that time period, but since her mother often dressed as a male to publish and sell her works, it did not bother her. Grell's father, however, was the same as most people. He would be quick to yell and hit his son for being too feminine. It wasn't right, and the beatings were meant to help toughen Grell up to be able to act "normal" when he had to deal with other people when he got older. The only good thing was that her father was rarely home to be cruel, but when he was, he would leave her as a bloody, crying mess on the floor. It worked, though, and she started acting like the man her father wanted her to be. She got married at seventeen to the daughter of her father's friend, and spent two years with her.

William stopped halfway through the report and was quietly musing what he had read when he was called to dinner. He quickly put it back where it was and went out to sit at the kitchen table. Everything in his kitchen was pristine and white, or at least it was until Grell started "cooking." She was waving around a dish towel, coughing slightly as she took something black and smoking out of the oven. Bowls and other cooking utensils William did not even know he had were scattered everywhere. He thought there might be something dripping from the ceiling as well, but he was too scared to even look.

Grell pushed him into a chair with a place setting in front of it. There was a note on his napkin that read "My Darling Will! I Love you!" in curling, red letters. She was grinning and jumping around excitedly, and she tossed some of the smoking stuff onto his plate. He tried to hide his smile at her inept ability to cook with a cough, and thankfully she was too busy pouring a glass of red wine for herself to notice. As soon as her own glass was poured, she handed William his own that was filled with his favorite white wine, which was odd because he did not have any in the house and he had never told Grell that it was his favorite.

Looking at him with a smile, Grell announced "For tonight's dinner, I have made homemade lasagne!"

Tentatively, William took a bite of the burnt dinner and managed to nod to Grell and pretend it tasted nice so as not to hurt her feelings. She grinned wickedly in response and slapped his shoulder. "You horrible man, lying to a lady about her cooking skills. I know it's terrible, that's why I made this as well. I'm a much better baker."

She slid a cake into the middle of the table and cut off a piece and put it on William's plate. He tried a small piece of it and was surprised that it actually tasted amazing. "Red velvet is my favorite cake," he told her before eating some more.

"Good! It's my favorite, too!" She giggled before eating some of her own.

Will smiled at her and flicked a bit of white frosting at her. It landed right on Grell's nose and she went cross-eyed trying to look at it. "My, my, Will! You're getting very naughty, playing with your food like that," Grell said quietly, wiping off the frosting.

She stood up, making Will realize that she was still wearing her skimpy red night dress. Grell walked over to his side of the table, her eyes narrowed. "Su- Sutcliff. Don't do anything that is inappropriate in a work relationship." Will stuttered.

Ignoring him, Grell straddled his lap, facing him. When Will didn't push her off, she brought one hand up to his face and lightly laid her hand on his cheek. He blushed a pale pink and Grell smirked when she saw. With her other hand, she dragged it along his chest and up to his neck where she began to tug gently on his tie to get it loose. He tried to look down at the hand near his neck, and did not even notice when Grell swiped the hand on his cheek over his glasses until they were covered with a thick layer of frosting.

She giggled and leaped off of his lap while he frantically tried to clean off the icing before she did anything else. When most of it was off, he felt a light touch on the back of his neck that sent shivers down his spine. He froze when he heard Grell whisper in his ear "Will, darling. Let me have fun for a while more, yes?"

Grell draped her arms over his shoulders so they brushed his chest, and her head rested on his back. She pressed a gentle kiss to the back of his neck and he was so surprised, he jumped up, sending her to tumble onto the floor.

William shoved his glasses onto his nose, ignoring the heat rushing to his face. Grell was sitting on the floor, her pale legs crossed daintily underneath her. She smiled and said in a breathy voice "I'm sorry, my dear. Did I scare you?"

"Sutcliff. You are out of line. I apologize for getting frosting on your face, I do not know what came over me, but that is unacceptable to do in a professional relationship."

Staring at her hands, Grell nodded. "If you try something like that again," William added. "I will not be sorry to make you stay by yourself this week."

Almost as soon as he said those words, Will wished he could take them back. Grell looked up at him with her eyes shining with tears. "I'm sorry," she muttered as she stood up and started cleaning off the table.

"Grell, I.." Will began. "I would not really do that."

"Then why say it?" She snapped. "Don't say stuff you don't mean, William! I never do!"

She threw the dishtowel she was holding onto the floor and walked up to him. "All you ever think about is work! You are immortal, Will! Stop wasting your time with worrying about work every single second of your life! You need to have fun and not think about other people every once in a while, because you never know what might happen. One day, you could get killed by a demon or die like Alan did, the Thorns of Death. How do you think your record would look if that happened, Will? Is there anything that you would regret doing? Or not doing? A 'professional relationship.' Hah." Grell stared at him, her eyes narrowed and no smile on her face.

Will did not know what to say. He could understand her anger, after reading how she had to act like someone she was not, it must frustrate her to see him act like he did not care about anything except for his job. But it was his duty, his life. It was why he was given a second chance at living. Some, like Grell, used their second chances to act how they were unable to in their human lives. But to William it was to prove to the reaper who saved him that he was worth saving.

"Grell, I know why you are mad at me, and I know that you think that I am wasting everything. You used this second life to be who you really are and not listen to your father, but I was always a man who followed orders and did my job. I like it that way." Will said, stepping back so he could pretend he could not see the tears on her cheeks.

For a second, Grell was silent. Then she said, so quietly that he could barely hear her, "What do you mean, about not listening to my father? I have never told anyone about my father. What do you know about it?"


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys! This is really late, I know... I'm so sorry! I was away for a while but now I am on summer vacation so I can update more regularly :) I hope you all enjoy!**

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"Tell me what you know," Grell said menacingly, any weakness she may have displayed moments ago completely forgotten.

William froze, silently cursing himself for his slip-up. He wasn't sure what to say, the truth? She would be furious that he would "impose on a lady's privacy" like that.  
"Uh, it was mentioned when we became partners, back in the academy? They gave us a small overview of each other's lives to help us work well together. It wasn't much, but there was a small bit about your father not liking your femininity." William said quickly, praying that the hotheaded reaper would not go around asking if the academy actually did that.

Glaring at him for one more moment, Grell turned around, her long hair flipping over her shoulder and cascading down her back in a cherry red curtain that successfully blocked any view of her body from William. Not that he was disappointed by it. Why would he? She was just a subordinate.

Grell clenched her fists and scowled at the wall. She was certain that she had received no such overview on Will's human life. If he hadn't learned about it during the academy, then he must have looked through her files later on after he became her supervisor. But he has never been one to be interested in another reaper's human life. She then remembered the file that she had seen on his desk earlier, the one he was determined for her not to see. Rage boiled in her, making her bite her lip to try and control her temper and keep herself from screaming. The sharp tang of blood was in her mouth when she turned around and faced William. Her leg flew out towards him and kicked his chair over, sending him flying backwards onto the floor. Her high-heeled foot rested on his chest and the long stiletto pressed lightly into his ribs.

"Sutcliff! Let me up!" William shouted, reaching upwards to push her leg out of the way and blushing furiously when his hand touched her thigh.

She responded by putting more weight onto his chest, her eyes narrowed and Grell leaned forward, baring her teeth. "You read my files."

William closed his eyes, recognizing that he would not be able to lie to her. "I was trying-"

"You. Read. My. Files. After I told you I wasn't comfortable with you knowing."

"Sutcliff, stop this immediately."

She grinned at him and then leaned forward to whisper in his ear. "How much do you know?"

"I have read up to your marriage. I want you to know that I was only reading it so I could make sure I didn't give you anymore upsetting cases in the future," william said quickly.

He felt nervous. It was an odd feeling he normally did not get. Even without her scythe, Grell was frightening and capable of causing him extreme pain if she was angry enough. William had to find a way to calm her down before she did something drastic.

"Will, Darling, do you care about my mental health? Or are you just worried about all the overtime my little stunt earlier caused and would cause again if it was repeated?" Grell asked with a smile.

"This is extremely unprofessional, Grell," William snapped. "Let me up. I was concerned about you, okay? I wanted to know if there was anything I could do to help you."

Grell tsked in disbelief, but removed her stiletto from his chest. Taking a step back, she allowed her superior to sit up and rub the bump on the back of his head from his fall. William was relieved to see most of the anger and stress in her fade away, leaving only enough frustration to keep her poised in a position that would let her kick him again if he said anything wrong.

"Grell, I apologize for invading your privacy, I won't read any further into your past if you don't want me to," William said quietly.

With a flip of her hair, Grell smiled. "Darling, I rather enjoy you being so submissive."Will frowned and began to stand up. "No, Darling! I am not quite sure I forgive you yet. I know you won't go around telling anyone, you're too proud to even think about doing so. But, that does not mean curiosity won't get the better of you and make you want to know more."

"What do you intend for me to do?" Will asked.

"Go get the file."

She took a step back and let him go to his room and get her file. When Will returned, she snatched it from him and pulled out the papers that contained the story of her human life and death. "There are things in these papers that I want to forget, Will."

William bit his tongue to keep from saying anything about the desecration of important documents as she tore them into shreds and threw them into the rubbish bin.

After she was done, Grell sunk onto the floor, as though her legs were too weak to carry herself anymore, her anger spent. "Grell, if you want to, I would much rather hear it from you. It may help you forget if you finally talk about it." Will said, lightly touching her shoulder.

She stared into space, her entire body tensed. "William, if I were to tell you all of it, you would kick me out. I told you that reapers don't allow murderers into their ranks. I don't understand how whoever it was who saved me managed to trick the higher ups into giving me this job. I'm grateful, do not think I am not, I love my job. I just do not understand."

"From what I've read," Will replied, sitting down next to her. "You gave up your dream to act as the person you really are to please your father, and you married a woman. That does not sound like a murderer to me."

"William, would you love me even if I killed people?" Grell asked as she leaned against Will's chest.

He jumped slightly at the sudden touch, but he did not push her away; she seemed too fragile all of a sudden. Will knew he had to decide on his word choice carefully. "Grell, I would like to remind you that I am your superior. I am not allowed to have any emotion for any of my subordinates. But to answer your question, I would not base any feelings I may have towards you on what occurred during your human life. You are not human any longer."

She wrapped her arms around his waist and held him tightly. "After we married, I realized why our fathers let me marry her," she began. "My wife died suddenly two years into our marriage from an illness she has had since childhood. Not that she wasn't a child still. We both were. We were both too shy to do much more than kiss. Well, I was. She despised me, or at the very least thought I was odd for always asking to touch her hair. I wasn't allowed to grow mine out, you see."

William smiled slightly. "I cannot see that, actually. Just as I do not see you as one to be shy."

He did not entirely understand why he was letting her cling to him like this. Was it just because he didn't want to seem insensitive? Did he actually enjoy the feel of her arms touching him? Will felt as though she could tell him anything right now and he wouldn't care as long as she didn't start kicking him again.

"My father was what kept me shy. At her funeral, I was approached by a woman who I believe was in her mid-thirties. She was attracted to the color of my hair, and thought that, since I was now unmarried, I should go live with her. My father thought it was a wonderful idea. The woman was still beautiful, she was rich, and she was influential in society circles. When my father forced me to marry her, I was nineteen. It was the smallest wedding I have ever seen, even to this day. This woman, her name was Beth, if I remember correctly, wore the most horrid green dress. It was like moldy bread. I supposed she did not wear white because she was about as pure as Sebby. It would have been an insult to my father to pretend otherwise."

Will frowned when she mentioned Sebastian. That demon did not deserve to have caught the fancy of a reaper, especially not when that reaper is Grell.

"After we were married, I learned of what my new wife did to fill her pockets so heavily with gold. She brought me to her own building in White Chapel and sent me inside, saying to me that if I come out with less than a hundred pounds, she'd send me out onto the streets. I almost went inside. I actually considered it. She wanted me to be one of her whores. I thought about it for a second, and without any hesitation, I had knocked her down and ran away. I ran to the only place I knew was safe for me to be away from my father, and that was my mother's home. My father, I knew, was away, but I was surprised that my mother was not there. I had laid down on the doorstep and waited for her to arrive. I was waiting for several hours and it was nearly three in the morning when people walked by. These were the people I had first killed."

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**I want you guys to know that I adore when Grell is angry and psychotic. I also like to give characters hell. It is a terrible, sick enjoyment I get from writing tough lives for them. Sorry, Grell, I still love you! Please review :) I would love to know what you guys did and didn't like so I can improve!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello beautiful people :) I want to let you guys know that this chapter is a tad bit violent, in case you don't like that kind of stuff. I wouldn't want to upset any of you! So this chapter is a flashback, but I didn't like how it looked with "flashback" somewhere before it, so I'll just let you know here :) I hope you guys like it and I didn't butcher my idea too badly! please let me know what you think in reviews! They are great to receive!**

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Grell was cowering on his mother's doorstep, wrapped in a thin silk robe that his wife had thrown on him before attempting to sell his body. She had let his hair grow out some, too, and it brushed his shoulders now.

He shivered on the freezing marble steps, pulling the silk tighter around his feminine body. "Hullo. Wotcha doin' down there?" A rough, deep voice asked him.

"Go away," Grell sobbed, his voice pitched nearly an octave higher than usual from fear.

"Now, now. Is tha' the way a lady talks to a gent?" A different voice asked, this one smooth and calming.

"Please," the redhead begged. "I'm waiting for someone. Just leave me alone."

"Ooo, she's waitin' for someone. Ya hear tha' mates? She's waitin' for someone else," the second voice said mockingly.

"What?" Grell asked. "I- I'm no lady."

The redhead looked up, confused. There were currently five large, intimidating men standing in front of him, smiling and leering. "My lady, wha-" the first voice, coming from a man nearly as wide as he was tall, broke off when he saw Grell's face. "She's a bloke!"

The second voice was tall, thin man with light brown hair pulled back from his face into a ponytail. His eyes, and not his stature, were what frightened the younger man on the steps. They were a sparkling pale gold, like champagne, but lacked the alcohol's warmth. They didn't sparkle with joy, but with a sick, cold excitement. "Tha's alright, love. Tha' bloke's just as pretty as a lady. An' it ain't like 'e isn't able to get fucked."

Grell attempted to shrink into himself, to disappear, but the men still stared at him. "I- I am married. I can't be unfaithful."

"Like we care, mate. We know who you are, Beth's new one, 'ight? She asked us to come find ya, but she didn't say you twos was married. Oh well. 'Ere, we'll take it nice 'n slow." The second man reached out with a small dagger, chuckling softly when Grell flinched.

The blade was only about seven inches long, and gleamed in the moonlight. The tip pressed almost gently against the feminine man's throat and pricked the skin. When it was withdrawn, Grell stared in amazement at the bright red drop of blood on the point of the dagger. It fascinated him. _But it would be even more fascinating if it was theirs', smeared out along their throats and faces,_ Grell thought. _I can make these ugly men pretty. Maybe I can even make mother's steps beautiful with red._

Without a thought, Grell commited the second act of intentional violence in his life, the first being when he pushed down the woman he had been forced to marry earlier that very night.

He leaped forward, tackling the man with gold eyes. The others bellowed and jumped to pull the rehead off of their friend, but when they saw Grell holding the dagger to the other man's throat, they froze.

"Michael, Beth said this one would be easy!" The smallest of the group yelled.

The man underneath Grell smiled and said "Prey tha' doesn't fight and scream is not worth my time. It's what shows the good ones from the dull ones."

Michael kicked his legs into Grell's stomach and his friends immediately pinned the redhead down by his ankles. Grell sat up and dug the tip of the dagger into the throat of the man closest to him. He was never even able to scream, he died so quickly.

The group around him backed off, even Michael. "Didn't think 'e 'ad it in 'im to kill Jonathan." The man who had first spoken said.

While the men who had tried to assult him bickered, Grell was grinning at the body on the ground. Warm, crimson blood was staining the ground and the body. He wanted to paint the men with it and make them scream. No one should attack a lady like that. Afterall, Grell considered himself a lady, too. Maybe he should start referring to himself as a lady when being introduced to people. Miss Grell Sutcliff. It had a nice ring to it.

"Would you be so kind as to scream for me?" She asked, smiling shyly.

"Excuse us?" Michael snapped. "Why would we scream?"

"Because, as of right now, I shall be Lady Death, and I am going to claim the next people on my list," Grell smirked, baring her teeth. "Now scream for me as I paint you in red."

The group in front of her stared at her as if she had suddenly grown wings. They were frozen with disbelief until the thin figure in the silk rode leaped forward and neatly sliced open the stomach of the man closest to her. He collapsed, screaming so beautifully for the Lady. She stepped over his twitching body and laughed when the three remaining men pulled knives and pointed them at her. What were human knives to Death?

Grell pounced again, dodging a blow intended for her head and followed it up with a swift kick to the knee of the man on Michael's right. He fell with a grunt and his friends quickly blocked him from the redhead who had appeared so feeble a few moments ago.

"You can't hide from Death, darling," the redhead laughed.

"Leave 'im alone! Leave us alone! We 'aven't done nothin' t' ya!" Michael's only friend who was still standing shouted.

"Oh, but you tried. And it sounds as if you've done things like this before. Knowing your type, you'd do it again in a heartbeat. I'm and angel, darling. Lady Death herself is saving other women from your sick torture. Now, you will die. Be grateful I am doing it, and you aren't rotting to death in prison like you should!" Grell laughed again, feeling comfortable in her current position.

She didn't need to run or jump now, the men left were too frightened to even squeak as she walked forward and stabbed them. Michael, however, did not get off as easily as the rest of his friends. Grell pushed him onto the ground, knife digging into his thigh. Working her way slowly up his body, she poked and slashed any flesh she could reach. He screamed and begged, but the lady was enjoying herself. When she came to his neck, she skipped the large vein that would mean a quick death. None of his current wounds were deep enough to kill yet, and she wanted to hear his crying a bit longer; it was preetier than the most finely-tuned piano.

With a gentle flick of her wrist, Grell drew a smile on the man's face. Red paint welled from the cuts and she dipped her dagger into the blood and traced around Michael's eyes without cutting the skin. She was painting now, not inflicting pain.

Her canvas twitched, making her hand slip and the blade to sink into the pale skin and a shriek reverberated through the streets. "Hush, I'm making you pretty," Grell murmured. "It takes a lot of work."

"What's going on here? Grell?" Grell's head whipped up at the sound of her father's voice.

"What did you do?"

"Mista'! 'Elp! This bloke 'as gone mental!" Michael shouted.

"Father, if you come any closer, I'll kill you as well." Grell informed calmly, positioning the dagger directly in the middle of her victim's forehead.

"Grell! Did you- I'll call the Yard after you! I gave you a wife, a chance to look normal! Everyone had stopped calling you a freak!" Her father approached them, pointing at his son/daughter.

"Father, I want a husband. I want to be called your daughter and I want to wear dresses. But most of all, I want to kill this bastard," at the last word, Grell thrust the dagger through Michael's skull with a crack.

Her father turned to run, fear spiking and making him leave. He didn't get far, however until the dagger hit him in the middle of his back. As he fell, Grell couldn't even hear a moan.

A few minutes passed, and Grell felt her robe grow heavy with blood. She glanced down and saw most of the white silk dyed a brilliant red. _This color suits me,_ she thought to herself with a smile.

It was strange that no one was outside, screaming. Were they all afraid of her? She should probably leave before the Yard shows up. But where could she go?

As she stood, a hand lightly touched the top of her head. "I don't blame you, my lady."

Grell whipped around, a scream rising in her throat that died when she saw that no one was there. "Hello?" She called tentatively.

"My Lady Death, one day soon, I hope you really will be," a soft giggle drifted around her, but Grell could not find the source.

She shook her head, writing it off as tiredness. After several moments of deliberation, Grell knew where she had to go. Those men had said Beth sent them after her. Beth was to blame for this, just as she was to blame for several people who were selling their bodies to survive. That woman needed to pay for her actions.

The redhead retraced her steps back to White Chapel. She managed to find her wife's building and get inside without being seen and arrested. She thought this odd; she was covered in blood and leaving a trail of scarlet everywhere she went, most would think someone would stop her at the very least.

Grell climbed in through a window on the first floor, and it was just her luck to end up in an unoccupied room. Holding her robe so it wouldn't drag, she quietly went down the hall, looking for the way to the front desk. In this sort of establishment, Beth had told her, Beth liked to keep a desk for her to sit at and make sure she is paid. Having known Beth for several months now, Grell knew that that is where she would be.

A few minutes later, Beth was lying on the floor, choking on her own blood. Grell went around the building, ignoring the woman and handing out the money to all of the woman and men being forced to work off a debt. "It'll be okay now," Grell reassured them with a smile as they fled from the premises.

The ones who weren't allowed to leave were the pleasure-seekers. Rich men, married men, single men, fat ones, attractive ones, ugly men. In all, there were nearly ten of them paying for pleasure that night. The Lady went up to each and every one of them and slashed their throats. When they were all on the floor, staining the wood, Grell heard the voice again. "Look out, my Lady. I didn't come for them," it whispered, not laughing this time.

It was then that Grell looked down at her hands. They were warm and sticky, covered in thick blood. It was beautiful. But she was scared. Killing people, hearing things, ruining a woman's business. This was not like her. Soon, they would be after her, and they would lock her away, or worse. A sob escaped her throat when she looking down at one of her victims; his eyes were still open, and they were the color of the eyes of a man she once knew.

It had been a brief friendship, but in the few months since Grell knew Beth, she became close with one of the servants, Anthony. He had eyes the color of the sky on a clear, sunny day, and seeing them was the only thing that helped her live her life. What were they doing here, on a man who she had just killed?

"Anthony?" She whimpered.

His eyes rolled to look at her's, and his hand lifted, trembling. "S-so.." He managed to gasp before a bright light came from the center of his hand and blinded the redhead.

"Anthony!" Grell yelled as hands grabbed her from behind and dragged her up againtst the wall.

Vapor-like tendrils of black wrapped themselves around her throat and lifted her a foot off the ground and slammed her head against the wall. Blue eyes glowed from where Anthony laid, and they changed in a flash to bright crimson. He stood up slowly and walked up to Grell where she hung, gasping for air.


	6. Chapter 6

Grell took a deep, shuddering breath and looked up at William with teary eyes. Her supervisor was staring straight ahead, as if he was ignoring her, but his arms still held her tightly. His facial expression had not changed through her tale, and he was silent for a moment more until "Is that the last thing you saw?"

Nodding, Grell said "Yes, now I know that he must have been a demon, but obviously I didn't know back then."

"Are you okay?"

The question startled the redhead, she did not expect her cold-hearted love to ask such a thing. "I- I think so. I almost feel better, having told you. That is, if you don't hate me," She sighed when he didn't respond and then added "But I don't blame you if you do. I did horrible things, and the worst thing is that I didn't have a moment of insanity or anything. I did exactly what I have wanted to do the majority of my life, to paint people in red- I still do. But I know how to control my urges now, for the most part."

"That voice you heard, have you heard it since?" William inquired, his voice emotionless.

Shaking her head, she replied "I think I hear it sometimes, when I am out on a job and I'm running late, or sometimes in the Library."

"Do you know who was the reaper who turned you?"

"No, they never told me."

"I think the voice you heard was the Undertaker," Will said, fixing his glasses and looking down at her with a slight smile. "The reaper who reaped you was his partner, so it makes sense that he was nearby. He might have been the one who reaped the ones who.. met their ends by you."

Grell noticed the slight hesitation her beloved had when mentioning the murders, and cringed. "D- do you hate m-me now?" She whispered, blinking away tears.

Will looked down at her and studied her face. "Why would I hate you? It is not as if you had killed children and defenseless people who haven't wronged you. If you ask me, it could have been a lot worse."

Grell stared at him a moment longer, and then sat up and pressed her lips to his with enough force to send them tumbling backwards onto the floor with the redhead on top. She expected to get slapped or punched and then pushed off, what she did not expect was for the other reaper to hold onto her waist tightly and kiss her back. The redhead smiled against Will's kiss and shifted her weight so she was directly on top of him.

Will opened his eyes when he felt her tongue brush his lips, and on pure instict, shoved Grell so she fell onto the floor. He sat up and, blushing, began to apologize. "I'm sorry, I do not know what came over me. That was extremely unprofessional and I do not want to give you the wrong idea. Please do not be angry with me."

Grell smiled and grabbed his hand. "Shut up and kiss me," she sighed dramatically, pretending to swoon into his lap.

"S-stop that!" He said, flustered.

The redhead's smile turned into a smirk. She turned his hand and pressed it to her lips, staining it faintly red from her lipstick. His other hand rested itself on top of her head and began to stroke her hair gently. "Are you okay?" He asked her again.

Nothing was changed, Grell realized in that moment. Will didn't hate her, and he wasn't trying to fire her. He wasn't afraid to be around her, either. "I think so," she said. "Mostly, I'm just happy you aren't acting differently around me, at least not in a bad way. You can keep acting like how you did when I kissed you whenever you want, that was a very good way to act."

She giggled when the normally well-composed reaper blushed and began stuttering "No! Th- that was an accident! I'm sorry for being improper! P-please stop m-mentioning it."

"Oh, come on. You know you liked it. It gave you a thrill, kissing a crazed murderer."

"You aren't a murderer. You are crazy, but we have to stab people and kill them for a job, so it isn't bad." Will said, evasively trying to distract Grell from the kiss.

Which is pointless, Grell thought to herself. I guess if I want something, I have to go get it.

She reached up and grabbed the back of his head, twisting her red-nailed fingers in his hair to pull his mouth down to hers. Will deepened the kiss and she eagerly responded to him, brushing the roof of his mouth with her tongue. Her supervisor moaned slightly and shifted his hands so one was on the back of her neck and the other on her waist.

Ecstatic, Grell sat up in his lap, facing him and wrapping her legs loosely around the black-haired reaper. His hands gently began to move over her body, stroking her bare skin hesitantly. She knew that Will was probably just not thinking rationally right now; maybe her insanity was contagious and he finally contracted it after all these years together. It explained the situation perfectly.

Pulling back from the kiss slightly, Grell attempted to separate herself from him to ask him if he was okay. The other man sighed and pulled her back to him,not even letting her speak. She struggled and managed to get her hands on his chest and push him away. "Stop!" She gasped.

Will opened his eyes, and Grell fell over, dragging herself away with some difficulty. He watched her, smirking, and then his head dropped forward with his chin touching his chest. For a second, when he was smirking, Grell could have sworn his eyes were not the usual green and yellow, but a shockingly bright blue


	7. Chapter 7

# Red 7 #  
William lifted his head slowly and put a hand to his forehead. "What happened?" He groaned. "Did you hit me?"

Grell blinked rapidly, her breathing irregular. "N-no? What? Why would you think I hit you?"

"I'm assuming that you did after I called you crazy," Will said.

He then actually looked at Grell. He noticed her face was pink and she was out of breath. Her long, bright red hair was tangled and her red glasses were crooked. Behind the glasses, her green and yellow eyes were opened wide in what appeared to be terror.

"What... happened?" He asked

"No-nothing! Can I go back to my own room? I don't want to stay here," Grell said abrubtly, standing up and combing through her hair with her fingers.

"Did I do something? And no, I cannot let you leave when you are still not safe by yourself."

A while ago, the redhead was excited about being able to stay with the other reaper. Now, she suddenly wanted to leave? It didn't make any sense to Will.

"Um.. I don't think you did anything on purpose, but I know I'm not safe here. I'm better off on my own." She said with a stomp of her foot.

"What do you mean you aren't safe here? I'm not going to attack you unless you throw yourself at me again, and that is only self defense," Will protested.

"Will, d-darling, I just- please trust me. I won't wreck my room and I won't disturb anyone else. I just can't stay with another person."

Reluctantly, Will nodded. He knew that he wouldn't be able to make her stay if she didn't want to. She would probably leave in the middle of the night if he didn't let her.

"Can you at least tell me what happened to change your mind?"

Grell ran into the guest room and threw on her red coat over her night dress. She snatched up her bag and walked to the door. "Your eyes were blue," she said quietly as she shut the door behind her.

Will was confused. It did not happen often, but whenever it did, it seemed as if it was always caused by that redheaded psychopath. But why would he be thinking of said psychopath, imagining how silky her hair is, how gentle she has always been even when she was throwing herself at him, and how soft her lips are. How disappointed he was she left.

Back in her own room, Grell paced. Reapers don't have blue eyes. They don't have eyes that are anything but green and yellow. They most certainly do not change colors after passionately kissing someone.

She had only known one other person with those eyes. The demon she had tried to murder. But there was no way that Will was that demon. He could not have possibly discovered that she had become a grim reaper. There was also no possibility of a demon hiding amongst hundreds of reapers without being noticed, especially not if he was high-ranking like William.

Her thoughts drifted back to the souls she was meant to reap that she had abandoned. She could not take those souls after watching how they had died, a group of men who laughed and jeered at a young girl while she stumbled from their hits. Eventualy they had grown tired and attempted to take her. She grew outraged and attacked them, covering them in scratches with her nails and laughing as they bled. Her nails were sharp, but when she found a rock in the street, she decided that that would be better and had beaten them, killing three and seriously maimed the other two.

The girl had then been caught as she huddled, whimpering, near the corpses. The police dragged her away without saying a word to her while she tried to explain they were attacking her and she was saving herself.

Grell had watched the scene from the rooftops, upset. It was like being thrown back into her human life, and that was not something she wanted to ever see again. The memories had choked her, filling her head with fear and anger. She had left before reaping the souls, because she believed that they deserved to be taken and eaten by a demon. If they are vile enough to attack a woman, then they have no right to be judged by herself. The lowest of the low, that was what they were. They may have died, but she would be sure as hell to make certain they didn't rest peacefully. A demon's meal is tortured for eternity, so that is what they deserved.

There had been something strange about how that was set up. Too similar to her own experience to appear as a coincidence. A girl attacked who then brutally kills her attackers? It does not happen often, especially not with that many men attacking.

Grell flipped her hair and settled onto her bed, her mind reeling. *Too much thinking*, she thought to herself. *Stop worrying so much, it was probably just a trick of the light. William isn't a demon in disguise.*

Blue eyes. That was what Will was thinking of in his room, confusion and frustration the only things he could register. His eyes are not, nor have they ever been, blue. Even as a human, he had chocolate brown eyes.

But Grell did say that the demon who murdered her had blue eyes. And he may have freaked her out by pretending to not remember their kiss. He had been embarrassed, and assumed that lying would be the best way to forget about it. Does she think he's possessed by that creature? That might be why she had left. He should go explain to her that he had lied, maybe she would let him kiss her again.

That last thought made Will freeze just as he was about to leave to go talk to her. Did he want to kiss her again? Did he enjoy it?

There was no way for him to deny that the answer to both of those questions is yes. 


End file.
